Oregon Court of Appeals


The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the US state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has thirteen judges and is located in Salem. Except for death penalty cases, which are reserved to the Oregon Supreme Court, and tax court cases, it has jurisdiction to hear all civil and criminal appeals from Oregon circuit courts, and to review actions of most state administrative agencies. The 13 judges of the court are chosen by the people in statewide nonpartisan elections to six-year terms, and have as their administrative head a Chief Judge appointed from their number by the Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court.
Appeals court decisions are subject to a petition by an aggrieved party for review by the Oregon Supreme Court. The petition must be made within 35 days of the decision, and the Supreme Court determines by vote of the Justices whether to review the case. The court holds session at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, with offices in the neighboring Justice Building.

History

Established in 1969, the court originally had five seats before expanding to ten seats in 1977. Also in 1977, the court's jurisdiction was expanded to include almost appeals. Prior to the expansion, it could only hear appeals to criminal, domestic relations, and some juvenile matters, as well as reviews of actions by state agencies. The Oregon Legislature has debated adding additional judgeships in both 2011 and 2012. Three seats were added in 2013 to bring the total to thirteen. The Oregon Court of Appeals is one of the busiest appellate courts in the country, handling between 3,200 and 4,100 cases annually during a recent ten-year period.

Chief judges

Chief Judges from the history of the court.
NameYears
Herbert M. Schwab1969–1980
George M. Joseph1981–1992
William L. Richardson1993–1997
Mary J. Deits1997–2004
David V. Brewer2004–2012
Rick Haselton2012–2016
Erika L. Hadlock2016–2018
James C. Egan2018–present

Current judges

The current thirteen member court.
NameYears
Rex Armstrong1995–present
Darleen Ortega2003–present
Erika L. Hadlock2011–present
James C. Egan2013–present
Joel DeVore2013–present
Erin C. Lagesen2013–present
Douglas L. Tookey2013–present
Roger J. DeHoog2016–present
Scott A. Shorr2016–present
Bronson James2017–present
Robyn Aoyagi2017–present
Steven Powers2017–present
Josephine H. Mooney2019–present